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Microsoft Drops Windows 7 E Editions

Posted by kdawson on from the gets-no-bread-with-one-meatball dept.

A week after Microsoft agreed to include a browser ballot screen in Windows 7 systems sold in Europe, then announced that those systems would initially include no browser at all — specifically, no Internet Explorer — Microsoft has changed its mind again and dropped talk of a European Windows 7 E edition. Here is the official Microsoft blog announcement, which includes a screen shot of the proposed ballot screen. The browsers are listed left-to-right in order of market share, with IE therefore having pride of place. PC Pro notes that, since the ballot screen would not appear if IE were not pre-installed, Microsoft's proposal opens the door for Google to work with PC manufacturers to get Chrome on new machines. Note that the browser ballot screen has not yet been accepted by the EU, though the initial reaction to it was welcoming.

21 of 423 comments (clear)

  1. Wait, what? by SilverHatHacker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The ballot screen would not appear if IE were not installed.

    Doesn't that kinda kill the point of the whole project?

    --
    Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
    1. Re:Wait, what? by sopssa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It seems to me that this enables manufacturer to choose:

      1) Install "IE", which by default asks user which browser to install
      2) Install another browser by default
      3) Dont install any browser at all (the Windows 7 E route)

      What makes me wonder tho, is the IE removed after installing another browser?

    2. Re:Wait, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      This is completely false. It sounds like something you've just repeated after hearing it, but...

      As an experienced Windows developer for the last 10 years, I can say you are mistaken. I'm not sure if you are thinking of the MSHTML engine (which a lot of people use for UIs because writing UIs with HTML and JavaScript is convenient) or the Windows extended common controls that came along with Win98 / Win95 Shell Update (which happened to include Internet Explorer).

      Whether this is from you or from someone else, it's just pure FUD.

    3. Re:Wait, what? by mo0s3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but does that mean one can still use IE by typing a URL into the Windows Explorer address bar?

    4. Re:Wait, what? by bami · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You mean a
      GUI in Visual Basic?

      One that can track IP's perhaps?

  2. Obsolete by clang_jangle · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm no lover of MS, but this business of them being in trouble for bundling the browser made sense back when Netscape cost $50 and there were no real choices for the layman. Nowadays it's really a non-issue. After all, anyone who cares is free to download any number of free browsers. When "free as in beer" is the default price of a web browser, how is MS giving theirs away anti-competitive?

    --
    Caveat Utilitor
    1. Re:Obsolete by RedK · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've been on the Internet since about 1995. You rewriting history in order to make it seem Microsoft actually got where they are through merit is laughable at best.

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    2. Re:Obsolete by Ilgaz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't know about current situation but just months earlier, someone from IBM said they are still on IE 6 since the massive changes at the engine level needs massive changes. We speak about Big Blue with 450.000 workers here.

      So next time, careful when you call companies "backwards", they could be so huge so they can't deploy every new MS toy instantly when they feel like it. I am sure it is not just IBM, a lot of large companies have to do extensive testing, re-coding whenever a large update ships. MS couldn't sell Intel Vista licenses for example, Intel basically didn't see reason to upgrade to Vista from their time tested operating system installations. Is Intel a backward company too?

  3. Less work for them... by PrimaryConsult · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The logistics of separating out the IE browser from the rest of the OS must have been more daunting than anticipated. I do wish the "ballot screen" idea would be used in places outside the EU, as well...

    1. Re:Less work for them... by jpmorgan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, when they went to the EU and said 'we're going to ship a browser free version of Windows and let the OEMs install whatever they want' the EU said 'that's not good enough.' Because, see, if they did that the OEMs would just install IE and Firefox and be done with it. This isn't about getting Microsoft's claws off the browser business, it's about improving Opera's desktop market share, by hook or by crook.

  4. What about... by s0litaire · · Score: 4, Interesting
    ...All those that have pre-ordered Win7e or Win7n versions?

    Are those orders canceled since the product no longer exists, or will they get the Full (non-upgrade) Win7 version instead?

    --
    Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
  5. What is safari doing there? by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well Apple's little update-jacking fiasco seems to have paid off. The screenshot shows that Safari is the third most popular Windows browser, in front of Chrome and Opera. I don't have any problem with Safari (fast, small, standards compliant) but I wonder if this is all an Apple plan... and they seriously need to just use Windows widgets and styles instead of imposing their Cocoa look on the windows environment..

    1. Re:What is safari doing there? by Rockoon · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I would, but every time I run it and select to update my copy, it wants to download Bonjour, iTunes, and QuickTime for me. Since I don't want that shit on my system, I forcefully close the process from task manager.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  6. Re:How is this possible after RTM? by MathiasRav · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And how much would it cost to get something adware-infested into the browser selection screen?

    Well, since the list is ordered by market share, you would probably have to get enough users to use your "browser" to get past Opera in terms of market share.

    On second thought, that sounds very doable...

  7. Re:Better way to go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Randomized order? Way to make things more inconvenient for people, as they'd have to find the one they wanted on different installs.

    Sorry, but this is enough of a burden, making it even worse in some cockeyed harebrained scheme of being fair isn't going to appeal to me.

  8. Re:How will it work? by lukas84 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Given the fact that you'd need to understand what a "web browser" is before being able to make a decent choice here, that behaviour is acceptable. IE8 is decent enough, gets updated automatically and should be a good choice for all those that don't understand what a browser is.

    Those that do shouldn't have the slightest problem installing an application.

  9. If no browsers are installed by default, how.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If no browsers are installed by default, how will... users get to the internet? Obviously, this question isn't geared towards the SD crowd that probably has two or three different portable browsers on their usb stick, and copies of all the exes for any browser you can think of laying around in their download folder. But its geared towards those, who don't know that much about computers, and want to be able to open up their computer and go online.... Looking forward to the responses....

  10. Re:Isn't it time to drop the bill gates borg icon? by OverZealous.com · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Provided completely without any copyrights withheld, I present, a better MS icon:

    The Microsoft Flying Chair

    Download several sizes, including transparent PNG images, in a ZIP

    (Admittedly, the icon had a lot more motion blur before I shrunk it. :-( I could enhance it if there is interest from the Slashdot gang.

  11. Middle looks most important ;) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    According to psychology people tend to choose the middle one because it looks more important.

    So according to that theory this line up by Microsoft would be a huge mistake and people would choose google at lot ;)

    Yours truely,
        Skybuck.

  12. Re:PC Makers can already install Chrome by fermion · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This is why Google needs an OS. As it is, MS can offer discounts on the OS and web browsers, apparently making it unfeasible for any OEM to sell a cheap PC without the entire MS ecosystem(As an aside I believe the high price of windows has nothing to do with market forces, but only to do with the discounting that is required to keep PC OEM in line).

    If google had an ecossytem, which they could offer to OEM, then MS becomes secondary. Right now for many people managing their own PC is the burden. It is why people buy Macs. A bit more upfront, but less maintenance in the long run. For a single creative person, a extra thousand spent upfront is made up quickly in time saved. Google can do the same thing, cheaper. A simple OS. Applications that run on external servers. People are getting used to this. I know people who play all thier games, and have all thier data on external servers. It is simply not so important. Google could sell the entire thing for %50 and offer free hosting for all long as the customer owns the machine. The only barrier is an internet connection, and those are becoming cheaper.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  13. Wrong by justthinkit · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...
    People forget that Microsoft never set out to shove IE down people's throats. You didn't have 5,000 IE CD coasters sent to you in the mail like AOL and even Netscape did for years and years. (And this was even in the Win95 era when IE didn't ship on the OS.) (If anything you got MSN CDs and they were for a 'folder' based online system, and nothing to do with HTML or browsing.)

    Microsoft's concept behind IE was to add HTML rendering to the Windows OS. Period.
    ...

    This is so wrong I've gotta comment on it.

    Microsoft promoted IE as a way to kill Netscape.

    Microsoft embraced/extended/extinguished Navigator with IE.

    Microsoft locked in from the host side to force people to use IE for many of the highest profile sites. Firefox has to go under an assumed name in order for these sites not to look like crap.

    What Microsoft did with IE was so wrong that it was part of that big lawsuit way back when, that Microsoft lost (and then "won" through the typically corrupt appeal process).

    Microsoft didn't peddle coasters, but what they did was far worse.

    Man, the Microsoft shills just can't wait to rewrite history...

    /rant

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    I come here for the love